Crazy Encounters of the Immortal Kind
by GremlinGirl
Summary: After moving to New York and getting dumped by her boyfriend, Carolina can't handle it anymore and goes out for a drink. Her night of drowning her sorrows in alchohol is thwarted however, when she meets two odd characters at her bar of choice. Her life gets stranger from there as she has more crazy encounters with random people around New York.
1. Two Weirdo's in A Bar

Hello again! Okay so I don't really know what to say about this story other than it was just a bunch of random ideas that somehow got turned into a combined mess of idiocy. I guess it can be enjoyed if you want a simple read with no real plot of love or complicated things. I might go back and do more with this later depending on the type of attention it gets.

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I walked into the bar which was almost empty except for a small group in the back and two people sitting on barstools at the front. I walked over sitting a few seats away from them and ordered a beer. I had just been through a bad breakup and did not want to listen to the loud annoyances a few seats away.

With an annoyed glance in their direction, I began to drink the beer presented to me. I pushed my glasses up when they slid down my nose.

After a few minutes of listening to their chatter, I turned and asked, "Do you two not realize that there are other people in this bar that don't want to listen to you?"

Both became silent and stared at me with surprise on their faces. I ignored them and focused back on my beer with a sigh. Realizing it was empty, I ordered another.

"Well Miria I think this one needs cheering up!" I heard the man to my left say to his companion, a dumb blonde type girl.

They were both probably in their early twenties. The man was a slightly tall brunette, like me. The girl was blonde with brown eyes. They were both dressed like they had just stepped out of a bad hippie movie.

Unfortunately for me, they decided to move closer to me. Without realizing what was happening at first, I was suddenly sitting between the two, the girl to my right, the man to my left. I scowled at this turn of events and continued to ignore the two. They weren't having that though.

"Excuse me, miss," the blonde, presumably Miria, interrupted my thoughts. "Can I ask your name?"

"You can ask whatever you want. That doesn't mean I'll answer you." I replied seriously not in the mood for this. "But if you must know, my name is Caroline."

"Caroline!" shouted the brown headed man. "That's a wonderful name! My name's Isaac, and that's Miria. It's great to meet you."

"Just peachy," I muttered.

"You don't seem to be having a very good time." Miria observed with a small frown.

"Yeah, well I didn't come here to have a good time." I said back, starting to regret speaking to them in the first place. "I came to drink, so if you don't mind…"

"That's awful!" Isaac cut me off. "Everyone should have a good time no matter what their doing!"

I was beginning to wonder if he shouted everything he said. "Look, you two seem like very nice people, but I've had a long, hard day and I'm not in the mood for making friends."

Miria suddenly smiled brightly. "Well, as me and Isaac always say, when you don't want friends is when you need them most, right Isaac?"

"That's exactly right, Miria! So we'll be your friends tonight to cheer you up!" Isaac said happily.

Miria clapped excitedly. "See, Caroline! You don't have to be alone when you're sad."

"So what has you so sad, anyway?" Isaac asked.

I sighed and resigned myself to having to deal with the two until I left the bar, which I wasn't ready to do yet. So instead of trying to ignore them, I started to talk to them. "Well, you see, my boyfriend and I just broke up. More like, he dumped me. So I'm not in a terribly good mood right now."

"Aww! That sounds awful!" Isaac said loudly. "Why would he do that?"

"He said that we just weren't compatible anymore. Then he turned around and walked off with that bleach blonde tramp from across the hall." I answered glumly.

"You poor, poor dear!" said Miria obviously close to tears. "I don't know what would happen if Isaac left me like that!"

"Well, you don't ever have to worry about that, babe!" Isaac reassured his girlfriend. I had assumed they were together, now it was confirmed.

"Hold on to him tight, girl." I told Miria with a wink, then chugged the rest of my beer. I flagged down the bartender for my bill, paid, and got up to leave.

"Why don't you let us walk you home?" Isaac offered. "It's getting late."

I waved off his offer and started for the door. Walking out into the cool night air of New York City, I turned toward my apartment complex. I hoped Matt had cleared out before I got there. I didn't want to deal with him again.

After a few minutes of walking, I looked around warily. I knew my city pretty well, and I realized I was walking into one of the seedier areas. I knew this was the fastest way home but I still wasn't sure if I should have gone this way.

I looked around myself realizing there weren't that many people around. That was unusual, considering I was in the city that never sleeps. The nearest people to me were a couple in front of a bar making out. I sped up a bit in order to get out of there. I had heard stories of bad things happening in this area and I definitely did not want to end up on the front page tomorrow.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard a ruckus across the street. I jumped and looked over to see a short man in a green suit being kicked out of a bar by another taller, buffer man.

"Stay out of here, kid!" the taller man yelled at the other. He then tossed a green hat in the air and let it drift to the pavement.

"Kid, huh?" the other yelled back retrieving the hat. "I'm older than you could ever dream!"

"Yeah, sure. Come back when you can see over the counter." With that, the tall man closed the door to the bar after going back inside.

Grumbling to himself, the young man put the hat on his head and ran across the street. I tried to make it look as if I hadn't been watching but he singled me out anyway.

"Hey, you!" he yelled pointing at me. I started backing away starting to wish I'd taken a cab. "No wait! I want to ask you something."

I stopped silently cursing my stupidity. I had no idea who this crazy guy was or what he wanted. He didn't look too tough though. He was shorter than me, I realized when he came up to stand in front of me.

"Can I help you?" I asked slightly nervous.

"How old do I look to you?" he asked.

I just stared at him for a minute. Did he seriously just ask me that? He stopped a random person on the street to ask how old he looked? This guy was crazy.

"Well, I would guess about eighteen." I answered adding on a few more years than I actually did think. "Why?"

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Figures… Everyone thinks I'm some scrappy little teenager. Would you believe that I'm actually physically in my twenties and even older than that in reality?"

His question confused me. "Umm… Well probably not, but you never know. How old do I look to you?"

"Now wait a second, the last time a woman asked me that I answered honestly and got slapped." he said holding up his hands in surrender.

I laughed at that and so did he after a moment. "Sorry about whatever happened over there." I said suddenly.

"Oh that?" he asked. "I just got kicked out because I'm 'too young' to be in a bar."

"Oh." I said quietly. "I'm sorry about that, then."

"It's not your fault." He pulled his hat down over his eyes a bit. I realized with a bit of a smile it was a green fedora. "You should get home, though. It's late and this isn't the best place to be at night for a pretty girl such as yourself."

"Oh, that's where I was going." I told him blushing a bit at the compliment.

"And really, I don't need to be drinking anyway. I should get home to my wife." he said thoughtfully.

"You're married?" I asked.

"Yeah, for about ten years now."

"Ten years?" The disbelief was very clear on my face as I didn't try to hide it.

"Yeah," he said with a big smile. "Believe it or not."

I just stared at him for a minute then shrugged. "Whatever you say."

He laughed. "That's the normal reaction. Do you have far to walk?"

"Well it's a couple more blocks." I said. "Why?"

"Well, I don't want you walking by yourself if it is. Do you live in those apartments?" I nodded a bit warily. He smiled. "Then we're going the same way." He turned walking off in the direction I was going. I started walking also and he let me catch up with him.

"Don't you think your wife will be mad if she sees you with another girl?" I asked with a hint of humor in my voice.

He laughed a bit. "No, Ennis trusts me more than that. Just like I trust her. We've known each other too long to worry about things like that."

"How long?" I asked expecting another strange answer. I never expected the one I received though.

"Umm since about 1931." He didn't stutter or stop. There was no trace of teasing in his voice at all.

I just stared over at him. Did he seriously expect me to believe he met his wife, let alone was alive in 1931? This guy must be seriously insane.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked seeming to not notice my incredulous stare. I shook my head to clear it.

"Caroline." I managed to say.

"Well it's great to meet you, Caroline. I'm Firo Prochainazo."

"Yeah, you too." I said still in shock over the 1931 thing.

Within in a few minutes we arrived at my apartment building. I thanked him for walking me home and went up to my apartment. Going inside, I went to bed immediately.

The next morning dawned bright and early. I groggily got up, showered, and dressed for work. For the last few years I had worked at a small bookstore stocking the shelves. It had been around for a long time according to the owner. He told me his grandfather had opened it before the great depression. Somehow the little store had survived the economic slump and carried on to this day. Rumor was it was a hideaway for illegal liquor during Prohibition for a prominent mafia Family.

I didn't know if that was true or not but I didn't care. It was a job and I even liked it at times. The combination of interesting books and people always made me a little excited to go to work.

I walked into the store, the bell on the door jingling when I opened and shouted a hello to my boss. Then, I headed back into the stock room and grabbed a box to start putting out. The next few hours passed uneventfully, until a man walked into the store. No one else was there but me, my boss having taken himself out to lunch. I smiled in his direction and continued with my task of alphabetizing one of the shelves.

"Tell me if you need anything." I told the man.

"I'll certainly do that." he replied. The store fell into comfortable silence for a few minutes until he broke it. "Do you know where Poe's books are located?"

"The shelves are organized by name of the book not the author so they're all spread out." I informed him barely looking away from the shelf. "Do you need a certain one?"

"No, I just like to look at his work." he answered his voice coming from right beside me. I jumped a little having not realized he had walked up. He smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to startle you."

I took a good look at him for the first time. He was very handsome, a coat covering up what I presumed to be a suit and a fedora pulled over his eyes. He had a lean frame but some muscle to him also. His eyes were the prettiest golden color. I found myself smiling back like an idiot.

After composing myself a little I said, "No, it's fine." I quickly brushed the hair out of my face and fixed my glasses. "I can show you a book containing multiple works by Poe, if you would like."

"I don't want to trouble you. I'm sure I can find it." he said turning to walk away.

"Oh it's not a problem." I said quickly brushing past him and walking to another aisle. Quickly I pulled the book off the shelf and turned around. Again, he was standing right behind me so I managed to bump into him. "Sorry…" I muttered my face going red.

"That's okay. Now we're even." I looked up at him and he smiled again. I smiled back.

He took the book from my hand and looked at it. I took a step back and watched his expression for a moment. He looked at the book and opened it for a second. Closing it, he looked at me again.

"Can I buy this?" he asked. I nodded and walked to the cash register. He followed. "How much?"

"Ten-fifty." I answered. He pulled a wallet out of his pocket and handed me the money. I put it in the cash register. "Do you shop here very often?"

"I used to. I haven't been back in a long time, though. I've been busy." He said.

"I understand that." I said with a smile. "Well we'd be happy to have your business again, Mr.?"

"Gandor. Luck Gandor." He answered.

"I'm Caroline Jackson."

"It's nice to meet you. I'll be sure to come back again soon."

"That would be great."

He turned to leave and I smiled at his retreating back. The store fell back into silence for the rest of the day. I began the walk home about six o' clock.

I arrived back at my apartment building and walked up the stairs to my room. I stopped in front of my door to dig around my purse for my key. As I was doing this, I heard a commotion from the stairway. Turning a bit I saw a young, red headed woman walk up carrying two suitcases and a young boy with a cardboard box. She stopped at the apartment across from mine and started digging around her pockets for her key, I assumed.

"Do you need any help?" I asked politely.

She glanced over and shook her head. "No, we're just moving in and I can't seem to locate my key."

"Are you sure? I could go check on the stairway if you need me to."

"No." she answered triumphantly pulling the key from the pocket of her jacket. "I found it."

"Oh, good." I said. "Well, I'm Caroline, your new neighbor."

"My name is Ennis and this is my brother Czeslaw." She motioned to the young boy with the box who peaked around it shyly. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too."

I felt as if I had heard that name before but couldn't place it. I shrugged it off and retrieved my key. Unlocking my door, I went inside after waving goodbye to Ennis and her brother. I made a mental note to go next door and talk to them later, to welcome them to the building. I mean, in this city one nice person is a relief. Besides, I was raised in Texas so being neighborly is second nature to me.

I followed my after work routine of making dinner and eating then sitting down to watch T.V. I flipped through a few channels before deciding nothing was on and just turning it off. I picked up a book I'd been working on and read that instead.

I was drawn from my reading by a loud crash in the hallway. I stood up and ran to the door. Cautiously, I opened it and looked into the small hall. Looking down, I saw a box on the ground and its contents spilled across the gaudy, patterned carpet. I heard a groan and looked over to see a man starting to get up. I stepped over the box to help him up.

"Are you alright?" I asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." he said. I realized with some amusement I recognized the voice. "Hey, I know you."

"Yeah, we met the other night." I said smiling a bit. "Didn't expect to see you around again."

"Yeah, me either." he replied laughing slightly. "As they saw small world."

I laughed also and bent to help him pick up his belongings. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm moving into that apartment." he answered pointing.

"Oh, I met a woman who was moving in there earlier with her little brother."

"Yeah, that's my wife Ennis."

"I knew I'd heard that name somewhere before."

We both laughed again as we stood. "You should come over some time and have a meal with us." he offered.

"That would be wonderful." I answered honestly. My eyes wandered from Firo's face to the stairwell where another man was walking up. At second glance, I realized I recognized him from the bookstore.

"Firo." he greeted the shorter man who turned to look up at the new addition to the conversation.

"Oh, hey Luck!" he said breaking into a huge smile. "How you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Fine, I just heard you moved so I came by to say hello." Luck said with a small smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing anything." His golden eyes moved to me, as a blush spread over my face.

"Oh, no." Firo said motioning towards me. "This is my neighbor Caroline, I believe."

"That's right." I said, smiling a bit.

"And this," Firo motioned back to the other man, "is my childhood friend Luck."

"We've met." Luck said, giving me one of his small, barely noticeable smiles.

"Well, you could have said that before I spent my precious time introducing you." Firo said, jokingly. "Now, do you two want to come in for a few minutes?"

"That's what I came here for, Firo." Luck said.

"Oh right." Firo laughed lightly. "What about you Caroline?"

"No, thank you. I've got work in the morning so I should really be getting to bed. Maybe I'll see you around some time." I said my goodbyes and went back inside my apartment.

I changed and went to bed. As I tried to go to sleep, my thoughts drifted over the events of the last few days. I guess it had finally been proven to me. New York housed some really crazy people. I smiled to myself and secretly wished my crazy encounters weren't over just yet, then I drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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So, again I might go back and add more to this story, maybe continue it with more crazy encounters with more of the characters. Possibly try to make a relationship for Luck and the O.C. I don't know. Review and tell me what you think, please.


	2. Normalcy Shattered

**Yeah, so this was a long time coming. Sorry. Anyway, read and review. I don't own Baccano and never will.**

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Morning came too soon for my liking. I grumbled complaints to myself as I got out of bed and prepared for work. I looked out the window and realized it was raining. Fantastic…

Outside the building, a few minutes later, I flagged down a taxi and gave him my work address. I let the driver chatter while drifting into my own thoughts. After arriving, I paid the fare and quickly walked to the door. My boss, Brandon Lewis, was inside waiting for me.

"Good you're here." he said as soon as I walked in the door.

"Aren't I usually?" I asked starting to walk into the back.

"Yes." he called after me. The shelves were all stocked already, so I volunteered to work the cash register for the day.

The day dragged with very few customers entering. Near closing time, however, the door opened and two young people walked in. I stood up straight and smiled in greeting. I was ignored, as the two seemed wrapped up in their conversation. Well, it was really one-sided, actually.

"I'm telling you, Chane, my brother used to come in here all the time. This is the best place to find him." the young man with fiery red hair said.

The short, dark haired woman just gave him a look that seemed to say, _'Why must I go along with you're crazy plans?'_

The other glanced over and saw me. "Hello? Do you work here?"

"I do." I answered him. "How can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for my brother." he announced with a smile, coming over to the counter.

"I'm sorry, sir. This is a bookstore. I'm not sure how I can help you." I said.

The young woman followed him and just shook her head at me giving me a look that suggested this wasn't the first time he'd done something along these lines.

"Well, he used to come in here all the time. He probably still does. You might know him." the red head continued. "Can I at least give you his name?"

"If you think it would help." I answered trying hard to be polite. I looked over at the woman, wondering why she hadn't chimed in yet.

"Great! It's Luck Gandor."

My mind immediately went to the man who had come into the store just yesterday. "I just met him recently." I confirmed.

"See, Chane!" the man exclaimed happily turning to his friend. She simply crossed her arms. "Do you know when he'll be back in here?" he asked turning back to me.

"No, I don't." I answered honestly.

"Oh well." he said not looking disappointed in the least. "I guess we'll just have to come in here every day looking for him."

At this Chane threw up her hands in exasperation and walked out of the store. The other watched her and then turned back to me. "She's probably just upset because we don't exactly have a place to stay tonight." he explained.

"I would be upset about that, too." I said.

"Yeah, it's my fault really. I might have forgot to book a room somewhere and we can't find a place to stay. Oh, and my brother apparently moved out of his house, too."

"I see. Well, maybe Firo would know where he lives."

"You know Firo?" he asked.

I suddenly felt bad about bringing him into the conversation. For all I knew, this man was some sociopathic killer or something. "I do." I continued anyway. "He lives in the apartment next to mine."

"Really?" the man smiled. "It would be really helpful if you could give me that address."

"I don't know about giving people's information out." I objected.

"I understand. Maybe if we knew each other better, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"I'm Claire, by the way."

"Caroline."

"Well?" He looked at me expectantly.

I just stared at him for a moment, confusion lacing my thoughts.

"We know each other now." he said.

I mentally face palmed. This guy just didn't give up, did he? "Look, I don't know you at all actually. I wouldn't feel right giving other's addresses out. Think about it from Firo's perspective. Would you want me giving out your address?"

"I wouldn't mind." Claire said, smirking at me. "Please, I don't have anywhere to go."

The door opened again and the woman entered again. She walked over to Claire and placed her hand on his arm. He looked down into her eyes. It was like they were communicating telepathically or something. I watched the exchange in a sort of awe. Finally, he looked back at me again.

"Sorry to bother you. We'll be going now." He gave me a smile, then turned and walked out the door followed closely by his friend.

I shook my head and started organizing some papers on the desk. I didn't even look up when about twenty minutes later, the door opened again. "Welcome to the bookstore." I said.

"It's good to see you again." a familiar voice said.

I looked up into the warm golden eyes of Luck Gandor. He smiled at me, and I returned it with one of my own. "You too…" I said.

"I greatly enjoyed the last book I purchased from you. I was wondering if you could suggest anything else." he continued. "I'm really open to anything."

"I'll see what I can do." I answered, then shook my head. "Oh, do you have a brother?"

He looked surprised at my question. "I have two here and New York. There's also my adopted brother, but I don't know where he is."

"Is one of them Claire? Red head? With a girl?" I probed.

Now his expression was downright cautious. "Yes, how do you know this?"

"Well, he just walked in here about thirty minutes ago, looking for you."

An exasperated expression appeared on his face. "Of course he did. He wouldn't think of checking the phone book, or calling the number I gave him. I'm sorry for him. What did you tell him?"

"I said I didn't know where you lived. He asked me about Firo, too." I sighed. "I wouldn't tell him anything. There was just something strange about him."

"You can say that again." Luck looked down at his watch. "The book hunting will have to wait for another time I suppose. I have to go find where he wandered off to. Thank you anyway."

He turned and walked for the door. "Bye!" I called after him.

He turned and regarded me with his soft golden eyes. "Goodbye, Caroline." Then he turned and left the bookstore again.

I turned and leaned against the counter. I lifted my hand up to my burning cheek. Why was I blushing so much? Well, this Luck Gandor seemed to have his fair share of craziness. And I might possibly get to experience it right along with him.


	3. The Man With the Golden Eyes

**Wow. I don't even know about this story anymore. This chapter kinda got away from me a little bit. I hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to update more regularly. Sorry, it's a little short. OH, and warning. This chapter has a small reference to abuse. It's itty bitty though. Nothing major.**

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The club I was in was loud, and crowded, the booming music making my head hurt slightly. Why had I let my friend drag me here? Oh, yeah. Because I'm a total pushover. Said friend was now walking away with some guy she had just met, leaving me at the bar by myself. I sighed, resting my head on my hand, propping my elbow on the bar's counter. This was going to be a long night.

"Give me two beers. One for me, and the other for the lovely lady here." I looked up at the sound of the voice. It came from a tall man, around my age. The suspicious looking type. I looked down as the bartender served him and the girl he was referring to drinks, slightly wishing a guy would buy me drinks like that. Of course, that was too much to expect.

I looked out to the dance floor, hoping to spot my friend Jessica, but found no luck amongst the tightly packed bodies. Honestly, who would enjoy dancing out there? It was like a giant, sweaty stew pot. I sighed again, wishing I was back home reading a book.

The club I'd been dragged to was called the Caraggioso, another old place in New York. I didn't know much about the history of this one, but you could tell by looking at the place it'd been here awhile. The exterior was old, and run down looking. However, the inside was new and upbeat. It was blatantly obvious that there had been several redesigns over the years, but it added to the character of the place. If it wasn't so loud and crazy inside, I might have liked it a little.

As the music seemingly got louder, I slipped off the bar stool and walked outside, avoiding people walking into the club. I sighed as I stepped out into the slightly chilly air. I buttoned up the thin coat I was wearing and stood a few feet away from the club. The guard who was checking ideas glanced at me, but didn't say anything. I guess he thought I wasn't suspicious enough to bother with.

I watched the parking lot for a few minutes until a dark black car pulled up, parking in the V.I.P. section. I watched with mild curiosity as three men stepped out and made their way over to the club. I studied each of them in turn. The first one to catch my attention was a hugely built, mammoth of a man. He scared me a little. The second was a lanky, thin man, not especially attractive in my opinion. As I looked to the third, I almost had a heart attack. Luck Gandor?

He didn't seem to notice me at first, continuing to walk by with the other men. I almost shouted at him, to gain his attention, but managed to stop myself. I wondered briefly who the other guys were, deciding they might be the brothers he talked about.

"Hey, no loitering around here, girl." said a deep voice. I looked up to see the scary man had stopped and was staring down at me. "Either get in the club, or scram. If you aren't old enough, you shouldn't come in the first place."

I was speechless for a second, just staring up at the gargantuan horror. He glared a bit harder until I nodded quickly. Then, a familiar voice interrupted.

"Don't scare away the costumers, Berga. What good is that going to do us?" Luck walked around his older brother and tipped his hat to me, small smile on his face.

I smiled in thanks and rubbed my arm awkwardly.

"Why don't you come in and let me buy you a drink, Caroline?" he asked, suddenly.

I stared at him for a moment before quickly nodding. "That'd be great Luck." I said.

"You know her, Luck?" the big man asked.

"Yes, we became acquainted a few weeks ago." he answered. "You two go one ahead. I'll meet up with you later."

They walked off, leaving me with the mysteriously fascinating man. He offered me arm in an old fashioned way that was rather charming, and, when I took it, led me inside the club. We took a seat at a table in the corner, away from the immediate surge of people and he ordered two drinks for us. Then, he smiled and asked above the ruckus of the crowd, "So what brings you here tonight?"

"I was dragged here by my friend, Jessica." I answered.

He nodded. "You don't really seem like the clubbing type."

"I'm not! But you don't either. What are you doing here?"

"I own the joint. I was just here to see to some paperwork, but my brothers will take care of that."

"Speaking of brothers, did that Claire guy ever find you?"

He laughed a bit. "Yes. He's fine now. Back in New York for a while, as far as I know. Him and that girl of his, I don't know about them. They've been all over the globe together. Still hasn't put a ring on her finger, yet though."

As the drinks were delivered, he leaned back in his chair watching the crowd on the dance floor. I picked up the glass and took a sip. Tasted expensive. I wasn't sure what I should say to the obviously influential man in front of me. I'd never expected that, honestly. He had struck me as more of the normal, working class kind of guy. But, here he was, owner of a popular nightclub and buying me expensive drinks. Me. I shook my head a bit in disbelief. If he was this rich, he could have anybody. Why was he wasting his time with me?

I looked up when a familiar figure ran up to me. "Caroline!" she squealed, dark skin contrasting with her sea blue dress. "You found a guy! I don't believe you."

I almost slammed my head down into the table. "Jessica… This is Luck." I said almost unwillingly.

Luck smiled up at her. "It's nice to meet you, Jessica."

"Oh… he's cute…" she muttered, making me blush a brilliant shade of red. "Oh, by the way. I'm going home with Chuck, so I'm leaving you. Bye…" she muttered starting to walk off.

"Wait!" I called after her. "How am I supposed to get home!?"

She ignored me and pranced away with her new guy. I sighed and rubbed my temples, headache suddenly getting a lot worse.

"I can take you home." Luck volunteered. "I know where your apartment is. I could drive you to the building." He smiled at my dubious expression. "What do you say?"

"I suppose. If you don't mind." I said, a little surprised he would volunteer so easily. We barely knew each other.

"I don't. I wouldn't have suggested it if I did." he said.

For the next hour or so, we drank a bit more and made small talk. When I began feeling a bit tipsy, I asked him to take me home. I was never a good drunk, so I didn't want to turn into a dunce in front of him. For some reason, I found myself wanting to impress him very badly.

We walked out to the car together. I only managed to trip up a few times, which left me a giggling mess. I wasn't so far gone that I couldn't be embarrassed by this, but too far to do anything about it but blush like a mad woman. He helped steady me, making sure I got into the car, before slipping into the passenger seat himself. He didn't seem to feel the effects of the alcohol at all. Then again, he didn't drink as much as I had either.

"Hey, Luck?" I questioned, not waiting for a response. "How long have you lived in New York?"

"My entire life." he said, smiling a bit. "What about you? I know you're not from around here."

"Texas." I said happily.

"Ah. So that's why I couldn't place your accent. Why did you move to New York of all places, though?"

"I was running." I said, honestly enough. I shook my head a bit, wondering why I had told him that. Was I seriously that drunk?

"Running? What'd you do? Rob a few banks?" He was obviously joking, but I could hear the curiosity burning in his voice.

"No!" I laughed a bit. "I was trying to get away from my stepdad."

"Why's that?"

"He was a bad man…" I turned looking out the window, the subject sobering me up a little. "Momma didn't see it, or she just chose to ignore it. But I just wanted to get out, so I did."

"Oh…" I could almost hear the pity leaking from his voice. And I hated it. Anytime I told some one about this, they always starting looking down on me.

"I'm fine now." I said, defensively. "It's in the past. He doesn't affect me anymore."

"You don't seem like a victim at least. I would have never guessed."

I could tell he was trying to say something polite, to make me feel better, but it struck a chord in me. "I'm NOT a victim!" I clarified, looking back over at him.

He glanced at me, a surprised look in his golden eyes. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that. I was saying, I just never would have guessed you had a skeleton like that in your closet."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"Of course, not."

Well, that was a first. I looked over at him. "What?"

"Of course it doesn't. It's in the past. Your past doesn't define you. You can move on and live a new life like you chose to. What's behind us doesn't matter, but what we do with our lives now does." He smiled a bit, his eyes shifting back to the road. "Trust me. I understand where you're coming from."

He was the first one to ever drop it that easily. He was the first one to understand. I had gone through that a long time ago, and it was a pretty dark smudge on my past. But I had honestly gotten over it. I had found help and talked through it, and now I was just trying to live like it's a new day. Because for me it was.

The car stopped and I realized we were outside of my apartment building. "Do you need me to walk you upstairs?" Luck asked.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for the ride."

"You're welcome." he said smiling. His golden eyes almost shined in the dim lit car.

I climbed out of the vehicle and walked to the door. I turned just in time to see the dark car pulling away. I smiled to myself, desperately hoping to see him again soon.

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